The actions come ahead of the company's annual shareholders meeting Thursday, where it is also expected to be confronted on issues including its executive pay packages and marketing to children.

Early Wednesday, organizers changed the location of their demonstration after learning McDonald's closed the building where they had planned their actions and told employees there to work from home. The corporate headquarters in Oak Brook, Illinois, has several buildings on a sprawling campus.

Down the street from Hamburger University, dozens of police officers in riot gear warned protesters to disperse. People dressed in McDonald's uniforms essentially volunteered to be arrested by peacefully crossing a barricade or remaining on the property after being asked to leave. Organizers said about 100 McDonald's workers who traveled from around the country were arrested, along with community leaders and supporters.

Among them was Mary Kay Henry, president of the Service Employees International Union, who said in a statement released after her arrest that she wanted McDonald's workers to know her union members stood with them.

The SEIU has been providing financial and organizational support to the fast-food protests, which began in late 2012 in New York City and have been spreading to other cities and countries.

While turnout for the protests has varied, they've nevertheless struck a chord at a time when the gap between the country's rich and poor has widened. Executive pay packages are coming under greater scrutiny too, and shareholders last week rebuked Chipotle Mexican Grill's compensation of $25.1 million and $24.4 million for its co-CEOs in a non-binding, advisory vote.

McDonald's Corp., which is far bigger than Chipotle, gave CEO Don Thompson a pay package worth $9.5 million last year.

Outside its headquarters, 25-year-old McDonald's worker Jessica Davis said she wasn't worried about being arrested.

"I'm worried about not being able to pay my bills," said Davis, who earns about $9 an hour at a Chicago restaurant. She said she supports two young children and relies on public assistance and help from her family to get by.

A spokesman for the Oak Brook police department, George Peterson, said the arrested protesters were being processed and would be released, with court dates being assigned later. He estimated the crowd of demonstrators at up to 1,500.

Although some municipalities have higher rates, the federal minimum wage is $7.25 an hour and translates to about $15,000 a year for a person who works 40 hours a week. But most fast-food workers are given far less time on the clock, in part because restaurant owners want to avoid paying overtime and limit the number of employees who receive benefits, if they are offered.

Shareholder meetings offer the public a rare chance to confront top executives at major publicly traded companies. While ordinary investors typically don't attend, the meetings are frequented by public pension funds, activist groups and religious organizations seeking to change corporate practices.

Although other fast-food chains such as Burger King and Taco Bell use many of the same practices, McDonald's is a frequent target for critics because of its size and high profile.

In a statement, the company said it respects "everyone's right to peacefully protest." Later, spokeswoman Heidi Barker Sa Shekhem called the protest "very much a staged event."

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Hum 6,378

The group of protesters had marched up the driveway of McDonald's sprawling campus in suburban Chicago. They were met by about 250 law enforcement officers, including state police in riot gear, and were asked to leave. When they refused, the strikers were taken into custody, according to the Oak Brook police department in Illinois.

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spenser.d 1,100

The group of protesters had marched up the driveway of McDonald's sprawling campus in suburban Chicago. They were met by about 250 law enforcement officers, including state police in riot gear, and were asked to leave. When they refused, the strikers were taken into custody, according to the Oak Brook police department in Illinois.

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DocM 10,296

The best way to discourage union mob violence and its tendency to damage private property is to oppose it with an overwhelming counter-force. If that doesn't work, knock heads.

Let me explain,

the SEIU has its own version of the NAZI brownshorts, known as the Blue Shirts.

If a Democrat congressman is having a hard time defending his actions at a local Town Hall forum busloads of the Blue Shirts show up, crowd into the hall and shout down the dissenters. If there's a second session they will muscle into the hall, preventing locals from entering.

This happened in a small city near here named Romulus in 2009. In the first session Rep. John Dingall (D) was in trouble over voting for Obamacare.

The intermission was prolonged, and just before session 2 started in pulls 3 buses full of Blue Shirts. Well over 100 of them streamed into the Town Hall, crowding out locals and shutting down any discomfort Rep. Dingall may have experienced.

OAK BROOK, Ill. (AP) ? McDonald's CEO Don Thompson sought to address a growing chorus of critics on issues including worker pay and marketing to children at its annual meeting Thursday.

As hundreds of protesters chanted for higher wages outside, Thompson told the audience in the building that the company has a heritage of providing job opportunities that lead to "real careers."

"We believe we pay fair and competitive wages," Thompson said.

A day earlier, McDonald's closed one of its buildings in suburban Chicago, where protesters had planned to demonstrate over the low wages paid to its workers. Organizers then targeted another site on the company's headquarters, and police say 138 were arrested after they peacefully refused to leave the property.

As in years past, McDonald's marketing to tactics to children was also brought up by speakers affiliated with Corporate Accountability International. One mother from Lexington, Kentucky, Casey Hinds, said Ronald McDonald was "the Joe Camel of fast food."

Thompson said McDonald's wasn't predatory and that Ronald McDonald was about letting kids have fun. He noted that his children ate the chain's food and turned out "quite healthy," with his daughter even becoming a track star.

"We are people. We do have values at McDonald's. We are parents," he said.

Although many fast-food chains engage in similar practices, McDonald's Corp. is a frequent target for critics because of its high profile. The criticism is becoming a more pressing issue for the world's biggest hamburger chain at a time when it is fighting to boost weak sales amid heightened competition.

AP Photo: M. Spencer Green

Hundreds of protesters gather outside of the McDonald's Corporation Thursday, May 22, 2014, in Oak Brook, Ill., demonstrating for a $15 an hour wage and the right to unionize.

Part of the problem is that people are shifting toward foods they feel are fresher or healthier, which has prompted McDonald's executives in recent months to underscore the quality of the chain's ingredients.

Thompson struck on those notes again Thursday, saying the company cracks eggs and uses fresh vegetables to make its food.

Still, the issue of worker pay in particular has put McDonald's in an uncomfortable spotlight since late 2012, when protests for a $15 an hour wage began in New York City. Demonstrators were out again before the meeting, chanting, "I want, I want, I want my $15."

Shawn Dalton, who traveled from Pittsburgh, said her daughter is a recent high school graduate who can't afford to go to college right away, so she'll likely wind up earning Pennsylvania's $7.25-an-hour minimum wage.

"That won't get her an apartment, that won't buy a bus pass, that won't buy food," Dalton said. "She'll either have to depend on welfare or depend on me."

Shareholder meetings offer a rare opportunity for average investors to face top executives at publicly traded companies. Public pension funds and activist groups often show up in hopes of influencing a change in corporate practices.

More trivial matters can also come up during the questions-and-comments period. On Thursday, for instance, one speaker asked Thompson why McDonald's didn't serve biscuits and gravy for breakfast in all its markets.

Others complained about the meeting's early start time and the sugary chocolate chip cookies served for breakfast.